A mum has lost her two front teeth after illegal dental whitening – a treatment that should only be carried out by a dental professional – was performed on her teeth. Kellie Taylor, 43, is left wearing a denture after her teeth became weakened by the procedure and she had to have them removed. Kellie is now planning legal action against the beautician who whitened her teeth.

Natalie Kowalczyk was prosecuted by the dental regulator for carrying out teeth whitening illegally at a Lancaster salon. Kowalczyk was given a twelve month conditional discharge and ordered to pay Kelli £250 compensation for her pain and suffering, as well as £65 as a refund for the cost of treatment. However, Kellie does not feel this is enough, given the extent of her injuries. She said ‘it really annoyed me’, adding that she was glad about the outcome but it didn’t help her in the short-term.

Kellie describes her teeth feeling painful during the treatment but Natalie told her this was normal; however, her teeth were still ‘sore and sensitive’ afterwards for two weeks, forcing the mother to go to the dentist and find out what was wrong. The dentist told her that the bleaching product that had been used had penetrated the gums and weakened the teeth, leaving them beyond repair. Kellie now has to wear a denture to replace the two front teeth after they were extracted.